Bowling glove



Jan. 18, 1966 J. A. BAZAR 3,229,306

BOWLING GLOVE Filed April 5, 1964 Invenior John A. Bazur United States Patent F 3,229,306 BOWLING GLOVE John A. Bazar, 1513 Homestead Road, La Grange Park, Ill. Filed Apr. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 357,142 1 Claim. (Cl. 2-161) This invention relates generally to a bowling aid and more particularly to a specially designed bowling glove.

Through the years bowling has become this countrys number one participant sport. As more people turn to bowling for recreation there becomes a greater need for better bowling equipment both from a performance and safety point of view. This need extends to both the beginning and the more accomplished bowler. Beginning bowlers find it somewhat difiicult to properly grasp a bowling ball, particularly after bowling a few games when their hand and fingers are both tired and wet with perspiration. While the fingers of an accomplished bowler may not become strained and tired, they may become moistened in the course of competition. The combination of a tired and moistened fingers or moistened fingers alone can seriously interfere with the proper delivery of a bowling ball since the fingers may slip out of the ball finger holes ahead of time or may stick in the finger holes for too long a period of time during the delivery. In both situations the ball is not released from the hand at the exact moment that it should be. This of course results in poor scores and in some cases injury to property and person. It is therefore apparent that a real need exists in the bowling equipment field for a device which will aid in releasing a bowling ball at the exact instant that the bowler wishes to release it.

Another diificulty that most beginning bowlers encounter after bowling a few games is a tired wrist. Part of the reason for this is that they are using muscles and tendons which they do not often use. The remainder of the reason is generally the fact that they are not maintaining their wrist in a relatively rigid position during their delivery. The need therefore exists in the bowling equipment field for a device which will aid in preventing a bowlers wrist from becoming tired and which will also aid in improving the bowlers ball delivery.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a low cost device which will aid in releasing a bowling ball from a bowlers fingers at the exact moment he wishes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which will provide support to a bowlers wrist and which will aid in reducing wrist strain.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device which will aid a bowler in properly delivering a bowling ball.

Another object of the invention is to provide a low cost device which is comfortable to use and which accomplishes the foregoing objectives.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FiGURE 1 is a plan view of the invention shown on a bowlers hand.

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation of the device of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of the invention.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view of another slightly modified form of the invention.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is shown a human hand 11) having thereon the bowlers glove 11. The glove 11 comprises finger portions 12 and 13 which are adapted to enclose the third and fourth fingers of a bowlers bowling hand. The finger portions 12 and 13 3,229,306 Patented Jan. 18, 1966 are joined together by a web at their upper extremities as at 14. The joinder of the finger portions is optimumly made at that point which would be in the vicinity of the bowlers upper knuckles. An elongate back portion 15 extends upwardly from the point of the joinder of the finger portions for a distance sufficient to extend over the bowlers wrist. A series of opposed slots 16 are spaced along the length of the backing portion 15 and extend therethrough. A series of supporting straps 17 are adapted to pass upwardly through one of the opposed slots and downwardly through the other of the opposed slots. A snap or other locking arrangement 18 is associated with the ends of each of the straps so as to fasten them together in order tov tightly aflix the glove to the bowlers hand. An elongate support member 19 which may be made of stiff leather or relatively rigid plastic is adapted to pass under those portions of the supporting straps which pass out of one slot and enter the other opposed slot. It can be seen that when the straps are tightened the support member will also become tightly aifixed to the bowlers hand. To prevent the support member from slipping out of the strap loops the ends of the member are flared out as at 20.

The glove structure may be made of any smooth, soft, durabie material, such as doeskin, so that when a bowler who is wearing the device inserts his third and fourth fingers in the holes in a bowling ball they will easily and smoothly enter the holes. As the bowler starts his approach' his wrist is strengthened and made relatively straight by the support member 19. At the moment the bowler decides to release the ball it will drop smoothly off his fingers with no binding whatsoever due to the smooth nature of the glove. Since the finger portions fit the fingers very snugly the bowler does not lose his feel of the ball.

The glove may be made by forming each of the finger portions of a single piece of material and by joining these together as by stitching with a single piece back. It is also conceivable that the glove can be made from a single or a double piece of material. While it is not shown, the finger portions of the glove can be padded by adding additional layers of material so as to further protect the bowlers fingers.

In FIGURE 3 a glove is shown which is generally similar to that shown in FIGURE 1 and 2 but which includes an additional finger portion adapted to cover the bowlers thumb. The glove 11 of FIGURE 3 includes third and fourth finger portions 12' and 13' which are joined together at 14', a back portion 15', opposed slots 16, supporting straps 17, and a support member 19' having flared ends 20. All of these components are arranged as in the embodiment of FIGURES 1 and 2. However, this embodiment is provided with .a thumb portion 21 which is joined to the third and fourth finger portions by a web area 22 which also forms a portion of the backing portion 15'. It can be readily seen that all that need be done to provide the thumb portion is to provide an additional thumb portion and to enlarge the base of the backing portion by the web 22 so that the thumb portion can be joined to the remainder of the glove.

The device of FIGURE 3 has all the advantages of the previously described device but is specifically designed for those bowlers who use a three finger ball and who desire all of the inserted fingers to be covered by the glove.

The device of FIGURE 4 is quite similar to those previously described except that a second finger portion 23 is depended from the web 22'. As before the device 11" is provided with third and fourth finger portion 12" and 13", a back portion 15", straps 17" and a support or reinforcing member 19" having flared ends 20". Since the back portion of device 11" is wider than the back portions of the previously described devices, additional pairs of slots 16" are provided to insure that the glove lies flat and taut against the back of the bowlers hand. As can be seen the straps are passed up through one slot, down through the other One of the pair of slots, up through one of the second pair of slots and thence down through the other slot of the second pair. The ends of the straps are joined in the manner of FIGURE 2.

From the devices described it can be seen that the disclosed glove serves to cover certain of the fingers of a bowler as well as ofiering additional Wrist support. Since the glove will never become as moistened as a bowlers hand, the covered fingers will slip out of the bowling ball holes in much the same way roll after roll irrespective of the number of frames or lines bowled. Since the finger portions of the glove are adapted to be very close fitting the bowler will retain the same grip and feeling as if he were not wearing the glove. The glove will also aid in preventing blisters and cuts on the fingers since it is the surface of the glove and not the bare hand that slides out of the bowling ball holes.

While three embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, they all involve the same basic advantages and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therefrom without departing from the invention and therefore it is intended for the appended claim to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Iclaim:

A bowling glove having one or more flexible finger portions adapted to completely and snugly surround at least certain of those fingers of an individuals hand Which are normally inserted in a bowling ball, a flexible Web portion joining said finger portions together near one end thereof, said flexible web portion having a back portion which extends upwardly from said finger portions and which is adapted to extend along the back of an individuals hand and wrist, a series of opposed slots positioned along the length of said back portion, flexible supporting straps adapted to pass through said slots in such a manner as to aflix the glove to an individuals hand, and an elongate rigid support member adapted to be positioned between opposed slots and underneath a portion of said supporting straps so as to be made relatively immobile with respect to the glove, said support member adapted to extend over a portion of the back of the hand and over the Wrist of the wearer so as to reinforce the wrist of the wearer during delivery of a bowling ball.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,831,196 4/1958 Scheiber 2-161 2,949,610 8/ 1960 Lutsky 216 3,002,192 10/1961 Brower 216 3,03 8,723 6/ 1962 Bergendorf 27354 3,049,717 8/1962 Meyer 2-16 FOREIGN PATENTS 423,364 7/ 1947 Italy.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

